2011 AIMS: New HSV Black Edition Versions of Commodore Based Sedan, Station and Ute Models

General Motor’s Holden Special Vehicles unit in Australia is following in the footsteps of Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division as well as more recently, Porsche, with the presentation of a black-themed and named special edition series based on the E Series 3 range launched last September.

Making its world debut at the 2011 Australian motorshow in Melbourne, the SV Black Edition package is offered in the ClubSport R8, Maloo R8 and ClubSport R8 Tourer, which are the sports versions of the Commodore sedan, ute, and station wagon models respectively.

Read more »

Sport Truck Redux: New Rumors About the Holden Ute Heading to the U.S.A.

It’s a poorly kept secret that many Americans are quite fond of the Australian-made and Commodore-derived, Holden Ute, which we recently drove in Queensland. It’s big, brutish and comfortable with a bevy of engine and equipment options to suit virtually any budget or taste - so long as those tastes only extend to, “Big, brutish V6 or V8 engined utes”.

Before the Global Financial Crisis of 2009, the subsequent bankruptcy GM and the disillusion of the Pontiac brand, as many as half of the Holden Commodores built in Australia were destined for the U.S. and the world in the form of the Pontiac G8. A thinly disguised Holden Ute even made a showing at the 2008 New York Auto Show as the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck.

Read more »

Holden Ute Series II SS V8 Arrives in Carscoop’s Garage

Our man Tristan has snagged the keys to a Holden Ute Series II SS V8 model for a first drive in Queensland, Australia this week, and just to make it a bit more interesting, he’ll be driving the Down Under-flavored El Camino to a classic car gathering in Brisbane.

Blurring the line between cars and trucks, the Holden Commodore-based sport pickup comes from a long line of Utes dating back to the middle of the previous century. The Ute almost made it to North America when Pontiac revealed the G8 Sport Truck at the 2008 New York Auto Show, but GM’s growing financial troubles at the time put a stop to that plan, and eventually the brand itself which was discontinued in 2009, and finally shut down in 2010.

Read more »

New Rumors of the Pontiac G8 Returning to North America as a Chevrolet

The demise of the Pontiac brand in 2009 also brought about the death of the G8, the Americanized derivative of the Australian-built Holden Commodore SS. It was a sad day for Pontiac and Holden fans alike, the loss of the G8 export contract costing Holden millions of dollars and putting the future of its Elizabeth, South Australia plant - and the brand itself - in jeopardy.

When the Holden-derived Chevy Caprice Police Car was revealed for the North American market twelve months ago, rumors of a reborn G8 in the form of a Chevrolet were rife. Now, Aussie motoring website Drive is reporting that U.S. exports of the Holden Commodore SS are "imminent", with a launch expected before the end of the current model's lifespan.

At the LA Auto Show, Al Oppenheiser, a senior engineer at General Motors and the chief engineer on the Camaro project, told Drive that negotiations were underway to sell the Commodore in North America as a Chevrolet:

"Although we have made no official announcement as yet, we are definitely looking at doing something with Holden for the retail market. What we are looking at is bridging a gap in the performance sedan market that was vacated by the Pontiac G8. With no Pontiac, the obvious performance brand is Chevrolet."

An unnamed source at GM has even gone so far as to suggest that the export deal has already been finalized and approved. As the LHD development work is already done, the biggest hurdle facing Holden's relaunch of North American exports is the high Australian dollar.

Jonathan Rose, a spokesman for Holden, is less optimistic: "At this point in time our focus is on exporting the Caprice to North America as a law enforcement vehicle ... beyond that we don't have anything to add right now."

The unnamed Chevrolet, if it does become a reality, will mostly likely be based on the short wheelbase Zeta platform, not the long wheelbase one like the Chevy Caprice Police Car.

By Tristan Hankins

*Opening photos: South African Chevrolet Lumina

Source: Drive

__________________2011 HOLDEN COMMODORE SERIES II________________

LupiniPower's Chevrolet SportUte is a wild one; Packs 535HP from Supercharged V8

The Holden Commodore Ute may not have been given the chance for a career in the States as the G8 ST sport truck after the demise of Pontiac, but GM's modern-day El-Camino from Down-Under continues to be offered in markets outside Australia including South Africa were it is sold as the Chevy Ute SS.

LupiniPower, a local tuner from South Africa, has taken upon itself to introduce a hotted-up version sporting a 6.0-liter supercharged V8 with 535-hp and a massive 590 lb-ft (799 Nm) of torque. That's an increase of 173-hp and 200 lb-ft over the stock Ute with the naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Thanks to the added power, LupiniPower's SportUte completes the 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) sprint in 4.4 seconds instead of 6.0 seconds, while 0-100 mph (160km/h) goes by in 9.9 seconds, close to 4 seconds faster than the standard Ute.

Furthermore, the SuperUte reaches 125mph (201 km/h) in 15.5 seconds or over five seconds quicker than stock, boasts a quarter-mile time of 12.7 seconds at 113mph (182 km/h) and runs the standing kilometre in 22.8 seconds at 150mph (241 km/h), while top speed is up 25mph to 175 mph (282 km/h).

The South African tuner also improved the Chevrolet SportUte's stopping power with bigger race-specification front disc brakes and callipers, as well as the suspension setup. Optionally, buyers can add a full Bilstein suspension and a sporty limited-slip differential.

Finally, the supercharged Ute rides on new 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped around Bridgestone Potenza RE050 ultra-high performance tires.

The LupiniPower Chevrolet SuperUte can be had as complete new vehicle in South Africa for R639,900, equal to around US$94,000 / €67,400 / GBP58200 at today's rates.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Walkinshaw Performance Series II Commodore eats Ferraris for Breakfast

For the Australian car buff, Tom Walkinshaw needs no introduction. Here is the man who founded HSV and was responsible for the epic VL Commodore based HSV SS Group A in late '80s. Though no longer working for Holden, 'Walky' continues to turn out some of the most powerful and ballsiest vehicles Australia has ever seen through the performance company named after him.

At the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Walkinshaw Performance took the wraps off its latest model: the WP Series II Supercar. The Holden Commodore Series II SS derived super saloon is fitted with an Edelbrock WP 230 supercharger, boosting power to 617-horsepower (460 kw) and torque to 780 Nm (575 lb ft).

To reign in this beast, six piston brake rotors have been added along with a upgraded and recalibrated suspension package co-developed with Bilstein. The final touch is a unique audio system upgrade by Rockford Fosgate.

Walkinshaw Performance CEO Craig Wilson is extremely satisfied with the Series II Supercar:

"We're celebrating the release of the WP Series II Supercar by producing just 23 examples, finished in Panorama Silver, the same colour which adorned the original 'Walky' when it debuted at the Sydney Motor show 23 years ago". he said.

The whole package, including the AU$47,790 (US$46,930) manual Commodore SS base car, will start from AU$99,990 (US$98,810). This means the Walkinshaw modifications alone cost around AU$52,200 (US$51,880), including parts and labor.

By Tristan Hankins

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

HSV Commodore Range gets Minor Updates and 20th Anniversary Maloo R8 Ute

Holden Special Vehicles has taken the wraps off an updated version of its Commodore derived performance range along with a special edition of the Malooo R8 ute. HSV is the performance arm of Australian automaker Holden, known in the States through the now defunct Pontiac G8 and the Chevy Caprice police car that was revealed earlier this year.

Dubbed the E3 series, this minor facelift introduces two new options and a redesigned dashboard / instrument cluster to the HSV range which includes the , Maloo R8 ute, ClubSport R8 sedan, ClubSport R8 Tourer (SW), GTS, Senator Signature, and Grange.

An in-dash touch screen can be used to display real-time performance data, satellite navigation and radio controls, while rear park assist with reversing camera and iPod connectivity will also come standard.

Liquid Propane Injection (LPI) can be optioned for the first time on all models except for the Clubsport R8 Tourer, while Side Blind Zone Alert is optionally available across the range.

HSV's Managing Director, Phil Harding states:"Our E3 range is an example of HSV's passion for innovation, and determination to bring world leading technology to [its] vehicles."

In addition, HSV introduced a new limited edition "20 Years of Maloo" performance ute to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Maloo nameplate. Holden has raided its parts bin to give the Maloo hood scoops, 20-inch wheels from the GTS and a bi-modal exhaust system. Prices for the 20 Years of Maloo R8 will begin at AU$67,900 (about US$63,300) for the manual, with production limited to 100 units.

The HSV E3 series will go on sale in September, with the "20 Years of Maloo" performance ute following in October.

By Tristan Hankins

Holden's 2011 Commodore Series II updated; Where's Bob Lutz to reassure us that America is getting this?

The Zeta-based Holden Commodore lineup is getting a "Series II" refresh to keep up with the times. Highlights include a new "iQ" touchscreen interface for the usual suspects (Bluetooth, USB, iPod, backup camera, etc.), improved fuel economy/reduced emissions, and 3.0-liter and 6.0-liter engines that are E85-compatible. This "[allows] them to run on bio-ethanol, E10, Unleaded, Premium or any combination in between."

That being said, how is it that the Commodore has been Australia's best-seller for 14 years IN A ROW and America's one true taste came - and very quickly went - in the form of Pontiac's G8? Is there a real reason, other than conventional wisdom (which is a poor excuse), that these bigger, RWD cars wouldn't work Stateside?

Hell, the tooling is ALREADY THERE. On with the Caprice and big Caddy, already! According to GM, the available 3.0-liter V6 petrol returns almost 26 mpg. The more potent 3.6-liter V6s and 6.0-liter V8s get slightly revised to provide a 2.8% and 6% boost in economy, respectively. There's also a drop in emissions, but no final numbers are available yet.

These improvements come thanks to low-resistance tires (Omega/Berlina) and improved aerodynamics as well as a "clutched" A/C compressor that does not run when it isn't on (which should have been though up years ago); all V6 models get a reduced idle speed as well as 4 stars from the Aussie Federal Government's Green Vehicle Guide.

Interested in all the extensive and minute detail changes? Scroll down for the full shebang.

By Phil Alex

2011MY Holden Commodore Series II interior and exterior design enhancements across the range include:

Omega

· Entirely new front fascia with a bolder, squarer appearance and new lower outboard inserts
· New larger grille, with a bright chrome detail surround and new hexagonal mesh inner
· Revised headlamp shape with new lens and bright bezel
· Decklid with integrated aero lip detailing
· New IP centre stack with 6.5-inch full colour touch screen
· New centre console surround
· New full width decorative appliqué
· New HVAC controls

Berlina
Builds on Omega features with –
· New grille with prominent bright chrome crossbar
· New unique fog lamp surrounds
· New 17-inch, ten-spoke machine-faced alloy wheels
· New interior trim with woven fabric seat inserts and Sportec bolsters

Calais
Builds on Berlina features with –
· New front fascia and unique grille with prominent chrome header (attached to engine hood)
· New larger grille has full chrome surround, hexagonal mesh inner
· Lower fascia has full width bright detail
· Revised shape projector headlamps feature new black and bright bezel
· Full length bright chrome moulding on lower doors
· New 18-inch ten-spoke machined alloy wheels

Calais V-Series
Builds on Calais features with –
· New bigger 19-inch twin five spoke machined alloy wheels

Commodore SV6 and SS
· Exclusive sports front fascia, set apart by a new, larger grille
· Bolder, more muscular look accentuated by aggressive lower air intake
· Revised headlamp shape with new black bezel detail
· Integrated aero decklid lip detailing complements sports rear spoiler
· New 18-inch twin five-spoke machined alloy wheels
· New SS-style sports front seats for SV6 with deep bolsters and body-hugging contours
· High-mounted circular interior air vents.
· New sports centre stack with 6.5-inch full colour touch screen
· New sports IP decorative appliqué
· New 'white on Razor Grey' instrument cluster illumination for improved readability on SV6
· New 'white on red' instrument cluster illumination for improved readability on SS
· Gloss black instrument cluster surround
· Razor grey finish 'wrap-around' linear treatment on lower IP. Extends from IP into the door handle surround and through the console

Commodore SS V-Series
Builds on SV6 and SS features with –
· Revised shape projector headlamps feature new black and bright bezel (same as Calais)
· New twin five-spoke 19-inch machined alloy wheels
· Red finish 'wrap-around' linear treatment on lower IP. Extends from the IP into door handle surround and through the console.

The VE Series II colour palette features 12 choices, including four new colours. The new colours are:
· Alto Grey –
new mid-toned grey with silver highlights
· Hazard –
head turning bright solid yellow
· Mirage Glow –
a light, soft and luxurious beige
· Sizzle
– bright metallic red

Carryover colors include:
· Heron – solid white
· Karma – an architectural blue with metallic highlights
· Nitrate – a classic silver metallic
· Phantom – metallic black with silver highlights
· Poison Ivy – a sports green metallic with blue highlights
· Red Hot – highly chromatic solid red
· Voodoo – solid electric sports blue
· Wildfire – metallic sports orange

More equipment, more features

Bluetooth and iPod integration is standard in all Series II vehicles, controlled through the Holden-iQ system.

Across the range each Series II model also receives dual-zone climate control and an outside temperature readout.